Move-in check-ins
Scheduled notes after move-in, written by the family's own coordinator, with a simple reply option.
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Customer Retention App for Senior Placement Agencies
A customer retention app for senior placement agencies keeps families connected after move-in, with check-ins from their own coordinator, care review reminders and a simple route to a second placement. SIZ Group would build it for iOS and Android on the case records the agency already keeps.
01
Why retention matters more for a placement agency than for a generic business
A placement agency earns much of its work by word of mouth. A family that felt supported through a hard move will recommend the agency to friends and to the hospital social worker. A family that felt forgotten after move-in rarely returns, even when a second placement is needed a year later.
The relationship does not end at move-in. Families often need help again when a parent's needs change, when someone moves from independent living to memory care, or when a sibling asks for a similar placement. A retention app keeps the agency in touch at those moments without sending general marketing.
02
How work flows after the move, and where the relationship goes quiet
Most agencies stay in touch by phone and holiday card, and the follow-up depends on whichever coordinator placed the family. When that person leaves, the relationship often goes quiet. Referral partners such as discharge planners rarely hear the outcome, so they cannot tell whether the agency is worth sending the next patient to.
The breaks are predictable. A family's review date passes without a call, a community changes its pricing and nobody tells the family, or a satisfied family is never asked for a referral. Each gap is small, and together they explain why repeat business is harder to win than the first placement.
- Review dates that pass without a call
- Price changes at a community that families never hear about
- Satisfied families who are never asked for a referral
- Partner referrals with no outcome sent back
03
How families and referral partners decide, and what that means for this project
Families looking for a placement usually start with a discharge planner, a friend who has been through the process or a search for communities in the right area. They compare how quickly the agency responds, how honest it is about fees and whether it stays in touch after the move. A second placement is usually decided on the same trust.
For this project, the app keeps that trust visible. Short, useful updates about a family's community, reminders of a review date and a simple way to ask a question keep the agency in mind. Referral partners receive a status note only with the family's consent, so the relationship stays respectful.
What you get
Key features
Care-needs review reminders
A prompt to book a review when a family's care needs may have changed, with the family in control of timing.
Second placement requests
A simple way for a family to ask about a move or a new placement for another relative.
Preference and consent controls
Families set how they hear from the agency and can stop any message type at any time.
04
The first release: what to build first, and what can wait
The first release should cover three things: scheduled check-ins after move-in, each family's contact preferences and a way for a family to ask for a call or a second placement. Each one runs on information the agency already holds, such as the move-in date and the family's contact details.
Automated referral campaigns, reward programs and community comparison pages can wait. Each adds marketing rules and content work, and the agency should first prove that its check-ins get replies. A later phase can add them once the basics are working.
- Check-in reminders scheduled from the move-in date
- Preference settings for calls, texts and email
- Requests for a call or a second placement, routed to the owner
- Referral status notes sent only with family consent
05
Fitting in with the software senior placement agencies already run
Most agencies track cases in a CRM or a spreadsheet, keep a shared inbox for email and run a phone system that logs calls. Some use an e-signature tool for admission agreements. The retention app should read move-in dates and contact preferences from the case record, rather than ask families for the same details twice.
We list each tool on the scoping call and agree how the app reads it. Where a live link is not practical, a weekly export of move-in dates keeps the check-in schedule accurate, and the agency decides later whether to deepen that link.
06
Seasonal demand and how the retention app should follow the calendar
Placement demand rises after winter illness, around the holidays when families notice a parent is struggling and after hospital stays that end with a discharge plan. Summer is quieter for some agencies, but families who started a search in spring often come back in the autumn.
The app should follow that calendar. Holiday check-ins work best when they are short and warm, not sales messages. In winter the reminders can point families to the agency's urgent contact line, and in autumn they can prompt a review of care needs before the year closes. The calendar is agreed with the agency before any message goes out.
Will families feel pressured to refer friends?+
They should not. Referral requests appear only after a family has had a positive check-in, and they can be declined with one tap. The agency decides whether to ask at all, and the team approves the wording.
Can we contact a referral partner about a family's outcome?+
Only with the family's written consent, and only with the details the family has agreed to share. The app records that consent and blocks outcome notes without it. We confirm the approach with the agency's compliance adviser.
What if a family has had a bad experience?+
Any complaint or negative reply goes to a named manager the same working day, and automated messages to that family stop until someone has called them. Handling a complaint well is part of retention.
How do we measure whether the app brings families back?+
We track second placements, referral requests answered and check-ins that get a reply. Each figure is compared with the same period before launch, using the agency's own records. The numbers show what changed, although they cannot prove every cause.
Does the app need our phone system?+
No. Calls stay with your team, and the app only logs that a call was requested or completed. If the phone system can export call outcomes, we can add them later, but the first release does not depend on that.
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Let's make it happen
Keep families close after the move
Our team can map your check-in schedule on a free call, followed by a written scope and price.